Suspect claims he had affair with victim

Family says murdered woman was involved in Christian ministry.

Family says murdered woman was involved in Christian ministry.

April 13, 2006

DETROIT (AP) -- Patrick Selepak told investigators he had a sexual relationship with a Macomb County woman he is accused of murdering, according to a statement obtained by a newspaper. Selepak's assertion that he had an affair with Melissa Berels, of New Baltimore, was included in the 15-page statement obtained by The Detroit News under the Freedom of Information Act. A spokesman for the Berels family called Selepak's claim a calculated ploy to inflict more harm. "We know it's untrue," Randall Juip said. "Melissa engaged in Christian ministries and was trying to help people." Selepak's attorney, Bernard Jocuns, did not return phone calls seeking comment. He has argued in court that the statement shouldn't be admitted as evidence because it could have been coerced. But the attorney for Samantha Bachynski, Selepak's former fiancee and alleged partner, said he planned to use Selepak's claims of a sexual relationship with Berels as evidence that his client was "forced to participate" in the killing spree. Selepak, 27, and Bachynski, 19, are charged with first-degree murder in the Feb. 15 deaths of Melissa Berels and her husband, Scott, at their home. They also are accused of fatally shooting Winfield "Fred" Johnson, 53, on Feb. 21 in his home in Genesee County's Vienna Township. A forensic pathologist testified Tuesday during Bachynski's preliminary examination in Genesee County that Johnson suffered extensive internal injuries from two gunshots. But Dr. Michael Markey of Sparrow Hospital in Lansing could not say definitely whether Johnson died of strangulation, the Detroit Free Press reported. According to police statements, Bachynski said she helped pull on a belt around Johnson's neck after Selepak shot him.